There is a big difference between the two. As I do both... I can tell you the writing for other people can be fun but you do not get to always write about what you love. With hubpages, I write about what I love and that makes writing for hubpages better, though currently less affordable then writing articles for other people.
I prefer writing on HubPages because I choose the topics I want to write about. Writing for other people can be much more challenging and can get quite tedious.
I agree with Shawn. Writing on HP gives you a lot more freedom, however, it does not generate a lot of income quickly. I also write for Demand Media Studios, which gives you titles and pays you about $15 per article.
They do not let you pick your topic and you must apply for it with writing samples.
It depends on what kind of articles you're writing. For me, Hubpages is a nice respite from my everyday work, because I get to choose what I write. When I'm writing for clients, it can get fairly tedious because I have to force myself to write what they want me to write, when they want me to write it.
That said, it is a much better lump-sum payment, so it's much more useful for paying the bills than open-submission sites.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.